Traffic flow is the problem

November 3, 2017

I would like to know the Cape Coral candidates' positions regarding the below opinion and points.

After paying attention for many years, I believe driver behavior in the city has a direct correlation to driver frustration. I believe the use of tax dollars to fund lowering speed limits was a tremendous mis-use and over reach by the city council.

The action was not substantiated by anything to include the independent study, of which, some excerpts I've seen if done will only cause more driver frustration.

Cape Coral has the distinction of receiving the "worst commute" city in the State of Florida. The response from city officials as I recall were flippant citing volume of cars. and, no one challenges any of this!

Unlike northern cities that started a century or more ago with structures being built within feet of two lane roads; Cape Coral has space and most main roads are either 4 or 6 lanes.

The operative phrase in the above statement is "traffic signals." Cape Coral does not have a traffic problem; it has a traffic signal problem. And guess what? The State and County organizations managing the traffic signals are already funded - every year!!

It's absurd when traveling anywhere in the city (or Lee County) that you stop for 80-90 percent of the traffic signals regularly. When sitting behind a red light and cross traffic ceases and the light remains red for 30 seconds to over a minute, it's obvious the signals are not using the expensive sensors between and at the intersections. Worse yet, if you pay attention to the clump of opposing traffic (obviously clumped from the previous red light) approaching an intersection, the signal turns red just before arriving; this is insane!

First time visitors to Cape Coral often ask rhetorically "What do you have to do to make it through a green light in the city?" We as residents over time become complacent.

If the same traffic signal management were used in other more congested areas of the country, there would be complete grid-lock. We are fortunate to have the road infrastructure and traffic volume that we have.

Any business owner or CEO visiting the city considering relocation will most certainly react either consciously or unconsciously by having to stop at most lights. If you want economic growth this is one straight forward aspect to fix.

If you want driver behavior to change leading to safer roads and responsible vehicle operation, reduce the frustration of traveling between locations in the city by forcing the organizations controlling the traffic signals to do their jobs!